Material container with sling clearance



March 31, 1970 R. s. JAY

MATERIAL CONTAINER WITH SLING CLEARANCE Filed Jan.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 31, 1970 R. s. JAY

MATERIAL CONTAINER WITH SLING CLEARANCE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 26. 1968 March 31, 1970 R. s. JAY

MATERIAL CONTAINER WITH SLING CLEARANCE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 26. 1968 zz J4 J5 'iL' zav 1519 United States Patent "i US. Cl. 211-60 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A material container for long flexible stock is disclosed which includes a plurality of longitudinall oriented support modules of similar cross-section which are joined or integrally formed to provide a sling passage at each joint between the modules. In one embodiment U-shaped upwardly cross-sectioned support modules are shown having U-s'haped downwardly oriented end members joined by transverse stringers and having longitudinal stringers securing the same. A channel or sling passageway is defined between the adjacent support members by upper and lower connecting plates. In an alternative embodiment a unitary structure is disclosed preferably formed from sheet type material with U-shaped support members and a U-shaped sling passageway protruding from the crosssection of the U-shaped support member.

The present invention relates to a material container with sling clearance which finds particular utility in the storage of long flexible materials such as metal rods, strips, angles, and the like which would be used in screw machine operations, steel warehouse, and other locations where such materials are handled and stored for subsequent utilization in manufacturing.

Heretofore in storing such flexible materials sheet metal troughs and the like have been employed as a retaining means, and positioned on varying sized racks or other supporting devices. The principal difliculty with the current practice, however, arises when the entirety of the stored material is to be removed from its retaining means. This is made unusually difficult because slings can be passed around the flexible material only at its extreme ends, and if one can visualize reinforcing rods some 16 to feet long, slinging a bundle of the same from their extreme ends would involve bending, if not buckling to a point where the material itself is rendered either useless, or necessitates straightening in order to be useful. Flexible longitudinal materials, therefore, require support at intermediate points throughout their entire length when bundled in order to be conveniently transferred by means of slings from one place to another.

In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to incorporate three functions in the handling of flexible material into a single storage structure:

(1) To shape the flexible longitudinal materials into a generally rectangular bundle, and,

(2) To provide longitudinal support for the flexible material when stored on racks of cantilevered style, and,

(3) To incorporate suflicient clearances as spaced supporting positions so that sling passageways are defined permitting the easy removal of the flexible material from the container as spaced points sufliciently close to prevent buckling or bending of the load.

As will become apparent hereinafter, the foregoing objectives are achieved by a structure which differs from the conventional sheet metal slings or troughs by providing an interruption for sling passageway in the structure to permit flexible tension members such as cable slings or chains to be readily slipped around the material for removal of the same from the storage container.

3,503,519 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 A more detailed object of the present invention is to provide a material container with sling clearance which can be readily fabricated out of angle stock, and dictates a minimum of jig type material for construction.

Still a further object of the present invention looks to the provision of a modular material container with sling clearance having a plurality of support modules which can be added each to the other for a wide variety of lengths depending upon the material to be stored.

A further and useful object of the present invention is to provide a material container with sling clearance which has a minimum weight ratio to the material being stored so that handling equipment for moving the material container and its contained flexible members from place to place is not burdened by an excessive load attributable to the container itself.

Further objects and advantages of the subject invention will become apparent as the following description of illustrative embodiments proceeds taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an end elevation of a plurality of the illustrative material containers with sling clearance illustrating diagrammatically how they are moved by a fork lift truck from a stacked position toan orientation atop a storage rack.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the storage rack and material container shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the component parts of a material container with sling passageways fabricated primarily from angle iron.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the material container shown in FIG. 3 illustrating the relationship between a sling and the contained flexible material.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded perspective broken view of the comer members of an upper and lower ma terial container illustrating how the same can be nested by means of an interlock assembly.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the interlock assembly shown in FIG. 5 illustrating the nesting relationship between the top post and bottom ring of two adjacent containers which have been stored each atop the other such as shown in end view in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a top view in reduced scale of the material container with sling passageway as shown in perspective in FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a support module, a plurality of which are assembled in order to form the material container illustrated.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of a material container in which four identical support modules have been assembled illustrating the flexibility in use of the support module structure.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified unitary imperforate type container with sling passageway.

FIG. 11 is a transverse sectional view of the modified container shown in FIG. 10 taken along section line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

Iri broad outline the invention contemplates a material container for long flexible stock which has a plurality of support modules, each joined in such a manner as to provide a sling passageway at the joint. The construction is such that each container may be readily lifted by a fork lift truck or comparable prime movers, and stacked atop the arms of a rack, or self-stacked, depending upon the application. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the material container 10 having a load of flexible stock 11 rests atop the tines 28 of a fork lift truck 20. Each of the containers shown in self-stacking relationship, may be removed from the stack by the fork truck and placed on the arms 26 of the rack 25. Such racks are illustrated in detail in Patent 3,164,255. The structure permitting the self stacking is illustrated in exemplary fashion in Patent 2,801,752. As shown in front elevation in FIG. 2, the lower portion of the structure of the containers is such that the tines of the fork lift truck 28 (shown in phantom lines) engage the container at a mid-point, and the lower portions of the outer end of the container engage the arms 26 of the rack 25, and the container is retained in place by means of the end stops 27 on the arms 26. The positions just shown and described demonstrate how readily the container 10 can be moved from place to place to store the flexible stock 11.

Turning to FIG. 4, it will be seen that a sling passage 13 has been provided in each container 10 so that a sling 17 can be passed through the sling passageway 13 and, when engaged by a C-hook from a crane or other overhead lifting member, the flexible stock 11 can be removed from the container 10.

Referring now more specifically to FIG. 3, the material container 10 illustrated has three support modules 12. Each support module contemplates a U-shaped end member 14 which is made up of angle iron. As noted particularly in the upper central portion of FIG. 3, the U- shaped end members 14 have, in turn, side members 14s which terminate in an end member 146.

Transverse stringers 15 join the opposed U-shaped end members 14, and longitudinal angle stringers 16 are positioned at the intersection between the transverse stringers and the U-shaped end member side portions 14s. This structure just described completes the support module 12.

To join the adjacent support modules 12, a top plate 18 and a bottom plate 19 are employed to secure the adjacent support module 12, and simultaneously define a sling passage 13. As will be noted the top plate 18 has bent end members 18e which engage a portion of the interior of the U-shaped end member side portions 14s and are secured prefesably by welding. The bottom plate 19 is secured preferably by welding to the lower extremity of the U-shaped end member side portion 14s, thereby defining a sling passage 13 which is at least the thickness of the stroctural members of the U-shaped end member 14 and the transverse stringers 15. This proportional dimension of the sling passage 13 is highlighted in the illustration in FIG. 4 demonstrating the substantial amount of clearance involved for the manual insertion of a sling 17.

For stacking the containers 10 each atop the other as shown in FIG. 1, an interlock assembly 20 is provided as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. There it will be seen that a truncated pyramidal type top post is secured atop the U-shaped end member 14, more particularly at the outer end of its end portion 14e. As mentioned above, the top post may be of the character disclosed in Patent 2,801,752. Each of the containers 10, at the end portions of the outer support module 12 is fitted with a bottom ring 22 which is nestingly secured within the lower end of the U-shaped end member side portion 14s again as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. It will be further appreciated that in addition to the interlock assembly 20 provided between the stacked containers 10, that the bottom plate 19 rests atop the joint between the adjacent support modules 12, when the containers 10 are stacked as illustrated in FIG. 1.

While the container 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 has a longer central support module 12, the same to receive the fork lift truck tines 28 as illustrated in FIG. 2, it will be observed that with four identical support modules -12, a container 10 such as illustrated in FIG. 9 may be assembled. In the four station container 10 as illustrated in FIG. 9, the tines of the fork lift truck 28 will engage the two central support modules 12 as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 9.

Reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 discloses again the relationship between the tines 28 of the fork lift truck passing beneath the container 10 as illustrated in FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, it will be seen how the top plate 18, partic- 4 ularly by its ends 180, engage the adjacent side members 14s of the U-shaped end members 14. Also in FIG. 8, the assembled relationship between the bottom ring 22 of the interlock essembly 20 and the side member 14s of the U-shaped end members 14 will be appreciated in the exploded construction as shown.

Illustrative of a modification which can be made from sheet material and generally imperforate is the modified container 10m illustrated perspectively in FIG. 10 and in transverse section in FIG. 11. There it will be seen that a plurality of support modules 12111 are joined by means of a continuous top and bottom plate 18/ 19m. Each of the support modules 12m has an imperforate end member 14 m, and a transverse base joining member 15m, defining a longitudinal angle 16111 at their intersection. of principal importance, however, is the definition of the sling passageway 13m as illustrated both in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. In this manner, the sling 17 can be readily threaded through the sling passageway 13m, and thereby engage the flexible longitudinal stock 11 on centers spaced comparable to the spacing of the sling passageways 13m. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 10, in phantom lines, the tines of a fork lift truck 28 can readily engage the modified container 10m in the position defined between two sling passageways 13m. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the modified container 10m can be stored atop a rack in the identical fashion as shown in FIG. 1 for the principal embodiment disclosed and described.

Thus in review it will be seen that two embodiments of a material container with sling clearance 10 have been shown and described in detail. In each one a support module 12 is the principal building block, each support module 12 being flanked by a sling passageway 13. The proportions of the support modules 12 may vary in length, but their cross sections are uniform. The sling passageways may be similarly modified, but as between adjacent sling passageways they are substantially identical in cross section. Each container 10 is sufirciently rigid and selfsupporting to retain the basic configuration of the flexible stock 11 which is stored therein, and further to permit either modular stacking of the containers, storage of the containers on racks, or ready removal of the flexible material by means of a sling.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in full here, there is no intention to thereby limit the invention to the details of such embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative embodiments, usages and equivalents of a material container with sling clearance as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, specification, and the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A material container for long flexible stock comprising a plurality of support modules of similar cross section joined to provide a sling passage at each joint comprising, in combination, U-shaped upwardly crosssectioned support modules, end members in opposed orientation on each module defining end retaining means, transverse stringer means joining the end members at their opposed lower extremities, longitudinal stringer means secured at the intersection of the transverse stringer means and end members, and means joining adjacent support modules at the upper and lower portions of the adjacent end members at the outer portions thereof, thereby defining a sling passageway between each module, the longitudinal stringer means serving the twofold purpose of support for resting the container on a cantilever rack or the tines of a fork lift truck.

2. In the container of claim 1, opposed upper and lower plates defining the means joining the adjacent support modules and the outer portion of the sling passageway.

3. In the container of claim 1, U-shaped downwardly oriented pieces defining the opposed end members of the support modules.

4. In the container of claim 1, L-shaped angle stock forming the longitudinal stringers.

5. A container of the character defined in claim 1 where all members are formed of L-shaped angle iron.

6. A container of the character defined in claim 1 in which all support modules are identical.

7. A container of the character defined in claim 1 having three support modules the end ones of which are identical.

8. In the container of claim 1, nesting mating top and bottom stacking means on the four ends in opposed vertical relation thereby permitting a plurality of containers to be self-stacking each atop the other.

9. In the container of claim 1, nesting mating top vertical relation thereby permitting a plurality of containers to be self-stacking each atop the other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 141,549 6/1945 Bilcik 10864 1,966,928 7/1934 Friedel l0864 2,913,125 11/1959 Burtenshaw 21160 2,988,017 6/1961 Stough 248-224 10 3,157,424 11/1964 Hall 211--60 JAMES A. LEPPINK, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

and bottom stacking means on the four ends in opposed 15 248224 

